I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

15 Free Library Card Perks You Should Know About

Last year the best purchase I made by far, was spending $3.30 at our public library. True, I was paying the fines for the overdue books I had borrowed, but when I compare that to the retail price of the 219 books I was able to borrow, WOWZA! I saved a TON!

And books are just one of the MANY perks that come with that cool little library card. Holy Toledos people, did you know that your library card is basically like a platinum card when it comes to the perks you get. Sure you get to read an endless amount of books for free {unless you occasionally forget to return them on time, in which case you might be charged a minuscule fee}, but the other freebies offered at most libraries will blow you away!

Here are just a few of my favorites:

Check out books. Obviously. This is what brings most people through the doors. I checked out a whoppin’ 219 books last year. The beauty of it is that I don’t feel guilty spending money on a book I’m not even sure I’ll like. If I start it and hate it {which is rare!}, I just bring it back. I’m not out the $10+ I would have spend on a dud! You too can check out any book your little hearts desire {and most libraries don’t have limits on how many you can check out at a time, so go to town!}.

Use the “hold” service if your library has one. This is probably my favorite thing about our library. You can get an online account, search for whatever, put it on hold, then they notify you when it has come in. You go pick it up, when it is ready and waiting just for you. It helps you get exactly what you want without having to take the gamble that it might already be checked out.

Free meeting space. You can reserve study rooms for free. There are no noise disruptions, so it’s the perfect spot for homework. You can also use these rooms for meeting places for book clubs, tutoring sessions, or study groups.

Genealogy Research. Many libraries have access to genealogy research databases. For FREE! A library near me even offers classes to help you research. Seriously, how awesome is that?

Tax preparation help. During tax season, many tax experts will offer their services for free at local libraries. Sometimes it’s just free for individuals who make under a certain wage, but it certainly is worth a phone call if you need some tax prep help!

Instead of having magazine subscriptions, check them out from the library. While you can’t check out the current month’s issues, you can check out all of the back issues.

Borrow movies. The library has pretty much every movie you can possibly want {unless you live in a super small town}. So the next time you’re thinking about heading to a Redbox or renting a movie on Amazon, a quick trip to the library will make that family movie night FREE!

Borrow video games. Did you know that most libraries have a wide video game selection? You can even put them on hold {see above}, so your kiddos can totally try out the latest game before you buy it. Or even better, maybe you’ll never have to buy it at all.

Digital books. If you are only into digital books, libraries can help with that, too. Most libraries have digital books that don’t even require you ever getting in the car. So, if you have a laptop, kindle, iPad or some other device, chances are you can get some free reads by just logging onto your library’s website. How cool is that?

Internet usage. Most libraries allow you to use the computer for an unlimited amount of time if there is no one waiting in line. Search for jobs and fill out applications, do homework, check email or even catch up with friends on Facebook. Some libraries even allow you to print a limited number of items for free.

Take advantage of educational computer games. The children’s part of the library usually has computers loaded with fun educational games. For older kids, Wi-Fi offers a little bit of surfing with some pretty strict restrictions that will keep them fairly safe.

Music. Want to check out a CD? The library has those too. I can’t tell you how much this has saved me over the years–sometimes I end up finding out that owning the whole album just isn’t worth it.

Newspapers. Take advantage of your local newspaper or even the Wall Street Journal while your kiddos peruse for books.

Take advantage of programs. Most libraries have tons of free programs and classes. Younger kids can go to story time, older kids can do book clubs. My library even has a Lego club {where kids get to build massive creations} and a knitting club {for all skill levels}. Some even offer fitness classes!

Free newsletter: Most libraries send out monthly newsletters with a heads up on the latest programs and offerings. These are great so you don’t miss out on any new free opportunities that may pop up. Make sure you read them!

Comments

Since my friend was a librarian at that library for years, I know that at your library you can also get free entrance in to local museums through your library card. I believe you check out the day pass the same way you would check out a book. It’s definitely a service not offered here. 🙁

Our libraries have museum passes too. They vary from one town to the next, but sometimes you can check them out from a neighboring town (and sometimes you can’t). Saves a LOT of money with some of the San Francisco attractions around here! (the California Academy of Science is a FABULOUS “museum”, but pricey, for example)

I live in a smaller town and our library does not offer free movies or video games – they’re $2 for 5 days. Which is still a great deal (I watched a whole TV series, with renewal fees for $28 instead of over $100!) but I grew up in a larger city and so this kind of threw me off at first. However, I do enjoy all the other perks!

My library has dvds and tv series on dvd for free to take out. Movies are 1 week and can often be renewed if someone else is not on a waiting list for it. The fine is $1 for being late. Tv series dvds are taken out for 2 weeks. Also a $1 per day if they are late. I believe a book fee is .40 if it is late.

Yes, I too was going to mention the museum passes. We can print 75 black and white or 25 color pages each week. I have printed lots of color printables found on Pinterest for Valentines Day or other projects. Laminating those color pages doesn’t work well because they use inexpensive ink and the color gets distorted from the heat of the laminator. I love the library.

My library has free tutorials and test preps, free access to language learning software, and cheap mobile and wifi printing. My whole county has a group service where I can borrow books my local library doesn’t have. At a library a few towns away, you can borrow gardening tools or fishing poles. I’ve also heard of libraries offering gardening seeds. You “borrow” them in the spring, and hand in fresh seeds in the fall. Isn’t that terrific?

I almost forgot, one local library has a 3D printer you can rent time on, but the waiting list is pretty high.

Oh how we love our local libraries!
Along with digital books, I’ve listened to so many awesome audiobooks for FREE through the library. Our girls also love the summer reading program and the children’s story time in such a blessing to moms of littles who need to get out of the house.

Many libraries have annual membership passes to local attractions (mostly museums) that can be reserved and checked out. Also – book club bags – with a set of books. Kid learning bags – with a selection of books on a topic plus other teaching tools. Ditto to the children’s activities/story times. Summer reading programs include tons of freebies and prizes (for ALL ages!). Local libraries are the best!

Our local library started a new program where you drop off your clean used prom/bridesmaid dress. They offer these dresses to local teens to borrow for their proms to help lower income families or just any family not willing to shell out money for a fancy dress. You return the dress and a local charity cleans them for free. How cool is that?

I am sure you know this, probably just didn’t mention it. I check out books on CD and listen to them on my daily commute. Much better than talk radio, and if I am caught in traffic, I just get to listen to an extra chapter. No problem! I have listened to individual books and series.

Our library (portland oregon – Multnomah County Library) offers digital books and audiobooks through Overdrive -(an app) it’s available at many libraries throughout the country. Also digital graphic novels, movies/TV shows, music and audiobooks through the Hoopla app. They also have electronic magazines thru the Zinio Libraries app. All the electronic keeps you from incurring any fines :). Some of the endless kids’ services we enjoy are reading to a service dog and the summer reading programs.

Our library will do interlibrary loans from about 50 other counties FOR FREE! No limit! So I can put that new cookbook on hold from a bigger city branch and not have to wait so long for it. 🙂

I used to work in a library and volunteer in one now and I can’t emphasize how many programs many places offer.

Here’s a few: Manga/anime club for teens, movie nights, American Girl Parties, visits from local naturalists, scientists, historians, and other kinds of specialists, days focusing on other cultures complete with food, author visits, artists visits, etc. If you have kids and homeschool, I encourage you to see if there are any special programs geared toward you. Summer programs for kids are the busiest times of year for libraries and the librarians put a lot of time/effort/heart into making sure it’s fun for the kids.

Our library has punchneedle tools available to check out, since the punchneedle classes are pretty popular there on Tuesday nights! I bought my own tools to have at home.

Our library also has seeds available for free (while supplies last usually), but we also have a seed library where we can bring seeds in from a previous year in exchange for seeds that are in the “seed library.” I’ve gotten some great varieties in the past!

Mavis, I see that Years of Minutes By Andy Rooney is in your stack of library books. Have you read it yet? Andy Rooney and I share a birthday, but aside from that he has always been my favorite funny curmudgeon. I could not imagine not owning that book, as I pick it up from time to time and just read a short selection or two for a daily guffaw.

I love my library. I have taken free cooking classes, Zumba , financial presentations and so many more. The kids have done so many classes over the years such as cooking, playgroups, arts and crafts, volunteers hours making gifts for Vets and for animal shelters. There are reading programs for the kids and adults and we have won some awesome prizes. They have babysitting classes and SAT prep for teenagers, CPR and Defensive driving(small fee)for adults. The have competitions such as chess, cards, Wii, mahjong. We have local artist’s display their work. They have so many family presentations such as petting zoos, puppet shows, bands, and dance groups. There is always something going on at my library.
We use the museum passes on a regular basis. The amount of money we save because of the library is huge. I make sure to vote every year for the library budget. So few people show up to vote.

Literally 1 hour ago as my husband and I were headed to our little neighborhood library I said, “Where would be without our library?”. We love that place and love that our tax dollars give us so much in return.

I was so excited when I found out that my library had magazines … that we could check out and bring home! My daughter borrowed a bunch, which she enjoyed. The CD collection at my library is also pretty amazing! I’ve found CDs that I had on cassette back in the day. It’s fun to listen to some of my old favorites again.

My Library has a seed bank where you can checkout seeds to grow. They ask that you let a few of your plants go seed and return the seeds to the library. The other cool thing mine has is a huge collection of Wilton type cake pans in all different sizes and shapes. I

A cake pan lending program is brilliant! So cool. I know none of these things are free, but it’s so lovely when people decide that their community is worth the effort/money, and so everyone can benefit from the investment, including those who could technically pay for buying it all new, and those who couldn’t! Everyone gets more for less with efficient sharing. 🙂

Our library has a learning garden with master gardeners. Teaching kids about gardening, how cool is that? And a walking book club. They play an audio book each week that you can listen to as you “walk” around the track. Not just books ant more. Its a happening place

Along with the digital books, don’t forget about audio books. They are free! I listen to a book when I’m walking around the neighborhood, cleaning house, gardening, driving, anything really. Many books also use different actors to read the different characters in the books so its very entertaining, I have more time to read this way than with an electronic book. Try it out you won’t be sorry! (My library uses the overdrive app- but your library’s site should let you know which app to use).

Mavis, I love this post ! I work at my local library and it is truly a community center for our town. We offer for check out to patrons Blu-Ray DVD players, Kindles, Laptops, wifi hot spots, caregiver totes with activities for those with memory loss, DVD’s, books on CD, books, lots of books, magazines that are ebooks. We also offer book clubs for kids and adults, adult art classes, informational classes, and a variety of activities for children and teens. Our summer reading program is right around the corner and each year we have more children sign up. We are celebrating our 100th anniversary this year and because of it being our 100th year the library is waiving all overdue fines……The patrons have been very surprised and have been very appreciative of this new endeavor. All libraries big and small are so important and vital in our communities. Keep reading !!! Kathleen

When my husband retired and wanted to move to the small rural community where we now live, from a metropolitan area, I had him stop at the library so I could see if it was adequate. I was pleasantly surprised; the library is GREAT!! And next month, they are moving into a new facility which will more than double their size. With the exception of museum passes, ours offers all of the things mentioned. Can’t wait to see what they do in the future!

I belong to several library systems (my city, my county, my neighboring county, my daughter’s county) and a couple of them offer Freegal, which allows you to download up to 5 songs to your device each week for free. There’s a huge list of songs in a wide variety of genres to choose from.

We LOVE the library. In fact we are going today to drop off our books and audio books before we leave in vacation. We take advantage of many of the programs for our 12 yr old son, including a wonderful weekly STEM program, teen discussion groups, intro to chocolate making, and much more. In the children’s section, kids can sign up to fill the display case with their collections. What a nice way to share those wonderful lego and matchbox collections. In December our son will be filling the display case with the educational posters about rabbits that he has made for 4-H. I spent many wonderful hours at the library as a kid. We have many libraries in our area and visit our favorites on a regular basis!!

I love the library and always have!!! Our library has homeschool classes that they offer about twice a month or so, I just discovered those. It’s a fun little break to get out of the house. Since we are new to the area, I’m still learning what our local library has to offer!

I also love our library for most of the reasons listed above! Ours has a program (and I’m sure they are not the only ones) but if you incur fines they will let you pay off the amount in equal units for the food bank—owe $3.00? Bring them 3 cans of food. Win-win for everyone.

Our local library has many of the same services mentioned about — literary materials in many formats, foreign language materials for non-English speakers of all ages (about 20-25+ languages already), museum passes, etc.
Most of the libraries within each county are on reciprocal basis, so you can hit any local branch near home or work. The 3 counties also have library cards available to residents or workers in their boundaries, so at one time, I had cards for all 3 systems…
But here in Oregon, our main libraries & some branches ARE BALLOT DROP-OFF SITES, OPEN TILL 8PM!!
So there are no waiting lines for our 100% mail-in elections!!

Our library has all the features you listed! One of the classes is a seedstarting classes every spring. They always give out packets of seeds from baker’s creek. Im all about free seed! They also have a seed exchange program. There is a card catelog of seeds to choose from….just seed save and replace them next year! They also lend garden and landscaping tools. I ❤ my local library!!

I noticed that there are several little cabinets around the city (Seattle) called The Little Free Library. You can borrow or keep a book and donate books you don’t want anymore as well. Pretty cool. I’ve seen a few around different neighborhoods in the city. I think I’ve seen one in Queen Anne, one in Columbia City, and another around the Northgate/Greenwood area. Not sure who started it but it’s pretty neat.

My library also sponsors Bus Trips to NYC. It is about 2 hours away. They drop you of at a landmark location on a Saturday and you have all day till like 6 or 7 pm to meet back at the set location for the ride home. A nice day trip for those who hate driving into NYC.

My favorite library has a “studio” that you can reserve for blocks of time. People can use it for recording music videos or albums, editing videos, scanning photos and old slides, etc. They have microphones, sound mixers, scanners, things to transfer VHS tapes and LPs to digital, all kinds of stuff! It’s a fantastic resource! Some of our libraries also offer state park passes you can borrow for a week at a time.